Thady Gosden talks Graham Clark through some of the stable's big hopes for the new Flat season.
Enhancing a position of strength can be a tricky task for some, but that is not the case where John and Thady Gosden are concerned.
There are few training partnerships in racing that are as strong as the Newmarket based father-and-son duo, who joined forces back in 2021.
Since teaming up the pair have tasted multiple big race victories on an annual basis with the operation at Clarehaven Stables appearing to be in a healthy state.
While the number of big race winners was down last year, there were still enough highlights to take from a campaign which yielded 110 domestic winners and more than £3.8 million in prize money.
And while top class mares Emily Upjohn and Inspiral have moved on to take up breeding duties the roster of top class older horses looks strong with last year’s Prix de l’Opera Friendly Soul leading the charge with the likes of Lead Artist and Ombudsman in support.
It is not only the older brigade that look set to play a leading role for the Gosden team with their three year old team looking equally exceptional, which suggests their sight at the top table will be seen on a regular basis throughout 2025.
Thady Gosden said: “In terms of Group winners we were slightly behind former years, although we had a solid team of horses with plenty showing their potential. Friendly Soul winning the Opera at the end of last season was a real highlight and a good way to help sign off the season.”
“We lacked a bit of depth in the three year old crop, but that happens some years, however we were very fortunate to be supported by a lot of good owner breeders. We do have some nice four year olds that have come forward and we have a fantastic group of three year olds to go into this year with.”
AUDIENCE
It was great to see him win the Lockinge from the front last season, but you have got to have the engine to do it and he later went on the back that up in the Lennox at Goodwood. He has plenty of ability, but he is an older horse now and he does have his quirks. When he is on song he is exceptional. He is by Acclamation, and he has a sprinter's pedigree, and physically he is a very strong horse.
The options on Champions Day are either the stiff six furlongs or the stiff mile so we thought the stiff six would play to his strengths better on that ground, but it didn’t quite work out that day. We ran him over six furlongs in the Al Quoz sprint over in Dubai last month, but I think after that effort it is safe to say that seven furlongs is probably his ideal trip and there are plenty of good targets for him.
The City Of York has had great prize money for a number of years now and it has rightly been promoted to Group One level in 2025 and it would be a natural target for him. He was unlucky in it last year as the horse next to him reared in the gates which just put him off, but he seems to be at his best over seven furlongs.
BOWMARK
He won his novice at Kempton Park very well last year. He is out of a very good mare of Lordship Stud’s (Bound). He has got plenty of size and scope and he looks an exciting prospect. We are not quite sure where he will start back, but he has got some nice entries next to his name. He won over a mile at the end of last season and he showed a good turn of foot there. It remains to be seen if he will be most effective over a mile or possibly a touch further.
CHANCELLOR
He won two out of his three starts last year and then he went up to Doncaster where he had an unfortunate incident in the stalls in the Champagne Stakes. Physically he looks like he has done well over the winter. You would like to think he will get the mile well this season. He ran a very encouraging first race in the Greenham and he travelled into the race very well. He got a bit tired late on, which you would expect first time out, but he will come forward for it. He has always been a talented colt and he will progress from that. He will be effective over seven furlongs, and the mile I imagine, so there are several options for him over those trips.
COURAGE MON AMI
He has had a nice break over the winter and he is now back in full work. The plan is to head back to Ascot for the Gold Cup, which as we know he has won before, with one prep race between now and then. He is a fantastic older horse, but he hasn’t had too many races, however he has achieved a lot so he is a horse you have to have plenty of respect for.
He has always been enthusiastic about the game and, despite having last year off, he still seems to be very much enjoying it. He has a lot of zest about him and physically he looks fantastic. He has won the Ascot Gold Cup before and hopefully we can get him back there in top order.
DAMYSUS
He won his maiden in good style at Southwell towards the end of last year and he has developed very well over the winter. He was entered at Nottingham yesterday in a novice, but we didn’t declare him as the ground was quite quick. He is still very inexperienced having only run once so it seems right to start him off in a novice with a penalty and then progress from there. Mentally he is a very straightforward horse and he has a very good temperament that is a good horse to be around.
DETAIN
He won two novices very well at Kempton Park and then we took him to Doncaster for the Futurity Trophy. It was very deep ground that day at Doncaster and for an inexperienced horse it just didn’t quite work out. When you have a horse win a novice so impressively at that time of year the Futurity Trophy is the obvious place to go.
He has done well this winter and he won in good style at Chelmsford on his comeback in what looked a very competitive race. He has bounced out of that race. He is in the Burradon Stakes at Newcastle on Friday and he is in the French 2000 Guineas We will see if we go straight there now or have another run before that. He looks to have plenty of talent.
DEVIL’S ADVOCATE
He was third on his debut at Newmarket, but then he broke his maiden very well next time out at Chelmsford. He is by Too Darn Hot and is out of Precious Ramotswe, who was also trained here at Clarehaven Stables. He has got a great pedigree behind him. Physically he looked like being more of a three year old as opposed to a two year old and we are looking forward to seeing him back on track. We will start him over either a mile or a mile and a quarter. The Classic Trial at Sandown Park could be a good starting point for him.
FIELD OF GOLD
He won the Solario Stakes very well at Sandown Park on his third start and when you run any horse in deep Longchamp ground at the end of the year, as we did with him in the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere, it is always a risk. The ground that day was very deep and it is tough on younger horses. He still ran a very solid race. He is quite a tall horse and he was quite raw as a two year old, but he has done fantastically over the winter and he looks a different horse this year.
He is entered in the Craven. Although we have not had much rain here, hopefully the ground will be in good condition as the plan is to take him to the Craven and that will shape his next step for the season ahead. He showed good form at two and hopefully he can put it all together in the Craven and then we can take it from there. He has got a lot of speed, and he has a big stride, but you could potentially see him stepping up to a mile and a quarter later in the year.
FRIENDLY SOUL
She is a very smart filly and it was great she was able to win the Prix de l’Opera at the Arc meeting in October. She didn’t do much wrong last year and the only race that didn’t go too well was the Musidora up at York, but these things can happen. Nothing really came to light from it as she was in good form going into the race. At the end of the day they are animals and they can have off days.
She always looked a very nice filly and her pedigree is outstanding as her mother In Clover has produced three Group One winners, with Friendly Soul being her fourth. With that pedigree behind, and with her physique, she always looked like being a pretty smart prospect. The pedigree suggests she will get better with age and she has developed well from three to four as her siblings did as well. Everything suggests she has an exciting year ahead of her.
She has got plenty of speed, but she won her Group One over that very stiff mile and a quarter at Longchamp. She is in the Lockinge, and that is one option she could take up, but we will see how she is training towards the end of the month. I think she will be kept between a mile and ten furlongs so there will be plenty of targets for her.
GREGORY
He ran in the Red Sea Handicap in Saudi Arabia on his latest start. He was a consistent performer last season. He is just having a nice freshen up. It would be nice if we could get his head in front in a Listed race as he hasn’t won since the Queen’s Vase in 2023. He ran some gallant races in defeat at four, but hopefully he can get back to winning ways at five.
GO GO BOOTS
She won her only start over a mile at Lingfield on her only start last year and it was clear she was learning all the way. She has been pleasing us in her spring training and is getting close to starting off. She has smart entries next to her name as she looked quite talented in that first start. It will be interesting to see what trip she ends up getting this year
LEAD ARTIST
He had a good campaign last year, but he has always looked like a talented colt. His last run was in the Bahrain International Trophy back in November. He has a great deal of natural speed and he was just outstayed close home that day by a horse (Spirit Dancer) that has had incredible success abroad. For a three year old, it was a fantastic experience for him to travel at the end of the season and he seems to have matured mentally for that.
Hopefully he can build on that and have another good campaign. He has got plenty of strength and substance to him and he has a quick action and a good turn of foot, which is blunted if it is too soft as we saw last year. He is in the Lockinge and hopefully dropping back to a mile he can show his best this season so that could be a good place to start him off.
NEBRAS
He is very well bred being a half-brother to Nashwa by Dubawi. He has got a fantastic physique and he showed he has ability when winning his first start whilst learning the whole way. He went to the Futurity Trophy straight after that taking on vastly more experienced horses, but he came out of that well. He looks much more mature this year. He has got an entry in the Feilden Stakes at Newmarket, which is a possible starting point, however he also has an entry in the seven furlong conditions race at the track on Thursday. We would be keen not to run him on rattling fast ground on his first start however.
NIGHTWALKER
He moved to us from Sir Michael Stoute’s at the end of last season. He showed a good level of form last season, but he looked the type to develop into a nice three year old, which he has done. The plan is to start him out over nine furlongs in the Feilden Stakes. The form of his Autumn Stakes third has been boosted by the winner coming out and winning the Ballysax Stakes this season.
He ran very well in competitive races last season and we are very fortunate to have been sent him by Juddmonte. He has been trained on the Bury Road with Sir Michael Stoute as a two year old so he adapted to life here very quickly and he seems to be thriving. He only ran over a mile as a two year old, but we will have a good idea on what trip he wants to go after the Feilden. He is a straightforward colt with a lot of potential.
OMBUDSMAN
Ombudsman is unbeaten in four starts and he progressed well last year in good company. He ended the season winning the Group Three Prix du Prince D’Orange having won a Listed race before that. He has demonstrated he has a lot of ability and hopefully he can be one to target at the major mile and a quarter races through the summer with. The Prince Of Wales’s would be a big mid-season target for him with the possibility of taking in a run before. It would be lovely if we had 10 of him.
SAND GAZELLE
She won well at Kempton Park at the back end of last year. She is a good looking Frankel filly and she is in good order at the moment. We are potentially looking at starting her off in the Pretty Polly at Newmarket next month. It was over seven furlongs she won her first start, but she suggested on that occasion she would benefit from a step up in trip this year. She has got some smart entries next to her name, but the next run will tell us a lot as to what route we take with her.
RUNNING LION
When she is good she is very good. She has wintered very well and she seems in great form with herself. We couldn’t be happier with her. The plan at this stage is to go back to the Dahlia Stakes on 1000 Guineas day at Newmarket, however she does have an entry in the Middleton Stakes at York as well
She was second in the Dahlia last year having won the Pretty Polly in good style the year before at the track. She is a very tough filly that has got plenty of class. She has run some great races from the front, but in her earlier days she ran some good races coming from off the pace so she is quite versatile.
SARDINIAN WARRIOR
He has turned into the Southwell specialist having won his last three starts there. He ran first time up at Kempton Park and he finished like a freight train there. He had a bit of a setback after winning Southwell early on last year, but he came back and won a novice under a penalty. He then won impressively pitched into handicap company for which he received a punishing rating.
That naturally precludes him from a lot of handicaps now. We are looking at taking him to the Paradise Stakes at Ascot which is a Listed race over a mile, however there are other options for him if we decide to go elsewhere. It would be nice to see him now transfer his form over to the grass.
STAR OF LIGHT
Star Of Light is by Star Catcher, who we trained to win the Irish Oaks, Prix Vermeille and British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes. She won well on her debut and she always had plenty of scope to progress into a nice three year old. You would expect her to stay a mile and a half given her pedigree, however a mile and a quarter will be a natural place to start her over. She is definitely one to look down the Oaks route with and hopefully everything will go right between now and then.
SWEET WILLIAM
He progressed brilliantly into Group races throughout last year, but he has always possessed plenty of ability. He ran in six Group races last season and he performed consistently in all of them. It is unfortunate when you keep on bumping into a horse like Kyprios, but he has excelled over the winter and he should have a great staying campaign ahead of him.
The Ascot Gold Cup is the natural place to go back to. He has a Yorkshire Cup entry as well, and the plan will be to have one run and then head on to Ascot. It is a well trodden path having one run then going for an Ascot Gold Cup. We will see how he is and discuss things with his owner-breeder Philippa Cooper. He hasn’t done a lot wrong so far, so we will have to see how this year goes, but he will be competing in all those big staying races and hopefully he can win one
TRAWLERMAN
Things didn’t quite go to plan in the Dubai Gold Cup for him, but he was in good form going out there, however he has been out there before. He arrived back in Newmarket on Tuesday and he seems to be in good shape from what we have seen. He has travelled before and he is a very sensible old soul. He doesn’t worry about too much at all. We will let him tell us if he needs a run before the Ascot Gold Cup, or if we go directly there like we did last year after Dubai, but he has come back in great shape.
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